Who is Bob Diamond? A quick CV

He may be an unexpectedly well-known figure to many members of the public here - Bob Diamond is the dark-haired executive who hands over the Premier League football trophy, sponsored by Barclays, to the winning captain.

Bob Diamond: Success story

But what's the story of his rise to taking top spot as Barclays' £70m man?

One of nine brothers and sisters, Mr Diamond grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, where his parents, both second-generation Irish immigrants, were teachers.

He studied economics at Colby College in Maine and an MBA at Connecticut University.

He excelled at American football, and remains an ardent sports fan, supporting the Boston Red Sox baseball team and Chelsea FC. He lists tennis and golf among his hobbies.

His first job, as a lecturer at the University of Connecticut business school, was a far cry from the vast wealth and power he later accumulated.

Friends say he quickly realised there was little he could teach his students about making money having spent his entire life in education. So he joined U.S. bank Morgan Stanley and so began his rise up the corporate ladder.

After 13 years, the high-flyer moved to Credit Suisse First Boston.

Based in Tokyo, he was president of its operation responsible for investment banking and foreign exchange for the Pacific region.

He was lured to Barclays in London in 1996, where he again shot up the ranks to become president and chief executive of its investment division Barclays Capital, which trades bonds, shares, currencies and commodities, as well as offering mergers and acquisition advice.

Mr Diamond helped build up Barclays Capital from a relative backwater into one of the banking group's key profit generators.

But in 2004 he missed out on the post of Barclays chief executive when the job was awarded to John Varley.

There were repeated reports of the perceived rivalry between the pair - denied by them both.

In Mr Diamond's words at the time: 'Most people in the UK assume that I am the brash, arrogant American banker and John Varley is the genteel Englishman... I am not as brash as people think and John is nowhere near as genteel as they think.'

Press reports speculating on Mr Diamond's salary began to be accompanied by photos of him alongside Sir Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stone's jewellery designer daughter Jade Jagger at a Barclays Capital client event.

In 2007 he was said to have made £21m in cash and shares. In 2008 he had to make do with his £250,000 basic salary after executives at Barclays caved in to pressure and agreed to give up the chance of seven-figure bonuses.

This year it was revealed he had landed a record pay package of £63.3m, incurring the scorn of Lord Mandelson et al.

Mr Diamond was paid £384,000 a year in basic salary and perks - 16 times the national average wage - plus a staggering performancerelated package of shares and other perks.

Mr Diamond married his wife, an engineer from Michigan, in 1983. They have two sons and a daughter and, while living in London, Mr Diamond had a reputation as a devoted and 'hands-on' parent, despite the demands of his work.

He helped run children's sports teams at the weekends and once flew home early from a summit because he had promised to cook hot dogs at a school event.

The family lived in a seven-bedroom townhouse in Kensington, West London, close to the home of Harry Potter author J K Rowling, and are believed to have made more than £10m when they sold it for £15m and moved to New York in 2008.